Hair salons offer short films

Customers will have their own screens

Hair salon customers will soon be able to watch films rather than flick through magazines during appointments.

Five hundred salons around the UK are being fitted with plasma screens on which to show short British films.

The UK Film Council, which funds more than 150 shorts a year, aims to expose more women to British film and to boost the number of short films shown. Following successful trials, all the screens are due to be fitted in salons by the end of the year.

Paul Trijbits, head of the Film Council's New Cinema Fund which backs the short movies, said: "Short films are essential to the development of film makers wanting to reach an audience.

"With limited short film programming in UK cinemas and little support for short films from broadcasters, this is a fantastic way of providing content to audiences across the UK."

Interactive media owner I-Vu has already signed a deal with BBC Library Sales to show programmes on the personal touch screens around the UK, with a range of entertainment news and documentaries.